Ten Killed In Attack In Eastern Afghanistan

The attack targeted the tax and revenue office of Nangarhar Province in the city center of Jalalabad on May 13.

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Ten Killed In Attack In Eastern Afghanistan

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JALALABAD, Afghanistan -- At least 10 people have been killed and more than 40 injured in a coordinated attack by suicide bombers and gunmen at a government building in the city of Jalalabad.

The attack targeted the tax and revenue office of Nangarhar Province in the city center of Jalalabad on May 13.

Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said a suicide car bomb exploded outside the building, which belongs to the provincial finance directorate.

The attackers then stormed the building, trading fire with security officials for several hours.

"There were eight terrorists who carried out a coordinated attack in Jalalabad city, killing 10 people," Khogyani said. He added that 42 other people were wounded during a gunbattle.

He said security forces killed six of the attackers after two of them carried out suicide attacks near the entrance of the building.

Meanwhile, authorities evacuated a nearby school for girls. They said there were no reports of injuries about the students or teachers.

Sohrab Qaderi, a member of Nangarhar's provincial council, said one attacker appeared to have blown himself up at the gate of the building and two other appeared to have detonated their explosives inside the building.

Qaderi said at least four attackers then stormed into the building with rocket-propelled-grenade launchers and AK-47 assault rifles.

The extremist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's Amaq news agency said, without providing any evidence.

The militant attack is the latest in a series across Afghanistan this year.

Most have been in Kabul. But in January, gunmen attacked an office of aid group Save the Children in Jalalabad, killing at least five people and wounding 25.

Nine journalists, including two RFE/RL journalists and a trainee, were among 25 people killed in a double suicide blast claimed by the extremist group Islamic State in the capital on April 30.